With increasing numbers of stories of people being attacked and shopping being stolen by gulls and with droppings piling up around the town, the problem is getting worse, not better.
We believe the 'Cull the Gulls' campaign reflects the opinion of the majority of the residents of Berwick, Tweedmouth and Spittal; and the expert who advised Berwick Borough Council has repeated his view that a cull is the most effective option.
A Tweedmouth woman who launched her own petition to have a cull of the gulls after being attacked herself says she has had overwhelming public support.
Lorraine Swinney, who lives in Prior Park, said: "There are over 1000 signatures at the moment. There are properties on the trading estates who have got petitions out and a lot of people round the housing estates have been taking them out. Some shops and cafés have them too.
"There is only one person I have spoken to who has refused to sign. I have even got names of visitors from outside the town.
"I just want the numbers reduced. It's bad this year and it'll be even worse next year."
Dr John Coulson, the retired Durham University zoologist who made a gull study in Berwick in the late 1990s and has also worked with many other councils, including Edinburgh, repeated that a cull would be 'the most effective short-term measure'.
If that was unpopular, he suggested a campaign of disturbance at nesting sites from the spring onwards and efforts to stop the birds expanding into new areas.
However, he said that the most important thing was to keep a campaign going over several years, with a team dedicated to combating the problem — which he admitted would be expensive.
He said: "There is no getting away from it — clearing gulls does not come cheap; and last time I looked Berwick Council did not have much money."
Local ornithologist Graham Bell agreed there are now too many gulls but was against a cull.
He said that the herring gull was actually a declining species country-wide and that its proliferation in Berwick was paradoxically a symptom of that decline: its natural food supply has declined dramatically and gulls are now looking to urban sites like Berwick for easy pickings.
He said: "It's a declining species overall because their food supply, which is basically fish and marine organisms, is also declining. So the gulls are taking advantage of the situation in Berwick where lots of tourists, and residents as well, put their fish and chip papers down in the street. If you were a herring gull you would do the same.
"I am sympathetic and I would agree the gulls should be reduced within reason. They have got out of control, but only because they have been allowed to. The council must face the fact that they must put money into the project and begin by regularly disturbing them at the periphery of Berwick.
"Poisoning and shooting are out for legal and safety reasons and the only safe and humane way is constant disturbance at selected sites."
He added that the borough council should also get tough on both tourists and residents who litter and feed the gulls, suggesting fines and publicly naming the offenders.
Berwick is far from alone: towns and cities on coasts throughout the country are wrestling with the gull problem, including Eyemouth, where a cull was held a decade ago.
Councillor for Eyemouth & District South, Michael Cook said :"A number of representations were made on the matter at the most recent meeting of the Town Council and it is a topic of active discussion in Eyemouth. It is an issue that we have to keep at the forefront of our minds.
"Seagulls are part of the spectacle of the seaside but unfortunately the nature of the situation is that they do leave behind a bit of a mess. Both locals and visitors alike are beginning to become annoyed with the repercussions of having too many of the birds in the area."
Removal of eggs, oiling and piercing have all been tried in Eyemouth, with mixed success.
Dennis Watney, Principal Environmental Health Officer for Scottish Borders Council said: "Although the continued oiling of eggs has prevented the hatching of around 400 eggs, the situation is far from ideal.
"Some streets in Eyemouth are almost white with bird excrement, and the extended period of dry weather hasn't done much to help the situation.
"This has been something of a setback, as despite our best efforts the breeding colony has increased again this year and although the problem isn't as widespread as it was some 10-15 years ago, it just won't go away. "
q What are your experiences of gulls? Do you have an opinion on a cull? Let us know. Call Thomas Baldwin on (01289) 306677 or e-mail thomasbaldwin@tweeddalepress.co.uk with your views.

e-mail: thomasbaldwin@tweeddalepress.co.uk